Balance lift



P 1, 1962 J. w. BIGGER 3,052,894

x BALANCE LIFT Filed Nov. 13, 1959 20 mHlh INVENTOR. (70%;? Z07 5766632 United States Patent ()filice 3,352,894 Patented Sept. 11, 1952 3,52,894 BALANQE LEFT John W. Bigger, 45 S. 7th Ave, Mount Vernon, NH. Filed Nov. 13, 1959, Ser. N 352,718 1 Claim. (Qt. 5-81) This invention relates to appliances and, more particularly, to an appliance for controlling the position of the body of an invalid in bed.

Ordinarily, it is difiicult for bedridden invalids to move about sufficiently for various toilet, sanitary, and comfort purposes. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a body tilt mechanism which may enable the invalid to shift the position of his body in order to more conveniently carry out various types of treatment, sanitary, and other movements.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a body tilt mechanism which is extremely simple in construction, efficient in operation, and which is completely actuated by the shifting of the weight of the body of the invalid in a prone position.

Still a further object of the present invention is to provide a body tilt apparatus of the type described which is comfortable, easily used, and which can be manufactured in large quantities at a relatively low cost.

All of the foregoing and still further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from a study of the following specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a body tilt appara tus made in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a longitudinal cross sectional View taken along line 22 of FIGURE 1, showing the apparatus in a normally forwardly inclined position;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view of the assembly shown in FIGURE 1, showing the device in a centered position; and

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 3, showing the device in an elevated body lifting position.

Referring now to the drawing, a body tilt assembly 19 made in accordance with the present invention is shown to include a base panel 12 having transversely extending frame pieces 14 secured at opposite ends of the base panel 12. Substantially triangularly shaped side pieces 16 project upwardly from the base panel 12 and extend between the longitudinally spaced apart cross pieces 14.

Each side piece 16 has a rearwardly and upwardly inclined forward surface 18 which converges with an upwardly and forwardly inclined rear surface 2%. The forward surface 13 defines an acute angle with the base of a triangular side piece 16 which is greater than the angle defined between the rear surface 26 and the base of the side piece 16; however, the rear surface 2% of each side piece 16 is substantially longer than the front surface 18 thereof.

A body supporting panel 24 of generally rectangular shape, is hingedly connected to the side pieces 16, adjacent to the apices thereof between the front and rear surfaces 18, 20, such as by a hinge pin 22. Because of the configuration of the side pieces 16, the hinge pin 22 of each side piece 16 is connected to the body supporting panel 24 forwardly of the center thereof, which has the effect of tending to maintain the body supporting panel 24 in the rearwardly inclined position, as shown in FIGURE 4. The forward edge 25 of the main body supporting panel 24 is tapered so as to be more readily engageable adjacent to the small of the back of the patient, whereby the patient may lean rearwardly and downwardly upon the rear portions of the panel 24 to efiectively rotate it from the initial position shown in FIGURE 2 to the elevated position shown in FlGURE 4, in which elevated position, the small of the back of the patient is lifted above the level of the bed upon which the base panel 12 is supported. Such raising of the back of the patient will enable the attendant to place new dressings, a bed pan, or other apparatus beneath the back of the patient in a simple and convenient manner. It will also be recognized that a pillow may be placed upon the rear portion of the body supporting panel 24, to increase the comfort to the patient, or to more effectively control the tilting action of the panel 24. If desired, the respective parts of the present invention may be conveniently constructed of molded plastic material for sanitary, weight, and strength requirements.

While this invention has been described with particular reference to the construction shown in the drawing, it is to be understood that such is not to be construed as imparting limitations upon the invention, which is best defined by the claim appended hereto.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

Body tilt apparatus for facilitating the movement of invalids comprising, in combination, a base, a body supporting panel, hinge means pivotally supporting said body supporting panel upon said base for selected pivotal movement about a horizontal axis between a forwardly and a rearwardly inclined position, said base comprising a substantially flat bottom panel, a frame secured to said bottom panel supporting said hinge means, said body sup-porting panel comprising a substantially rectangular panel of the same size and shape as said bottom panel, said hinge means comprising a pair of substantially triangular side pieces secured to said frame having forward base angles defined by the forward surfaces that exceed rear base angles defined by the rear surfaces to limit the inclined positions of the body supporting panel, and pivot pin means carried by the uppermost spaces of said side panels hingedly connected to said body supporting panel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,408,408 Scott Feb. 28, 1922 1,437,888 (Davis cc. 5, 1922 2,798,480 Bruzenak July 9, 1957 2,947,009 McKenzie Aug. 2, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 758,782 France Nov. 7, 1933 

